PowerPoint Notes – Unit 2 Rolling the Stone Away, The Paschal Mystery
A. Paschal Mystery
1. The Paschal Mystery is a core doctrine of the Church, one of the essential beliefs of all
Christians.
2. Though all doctrines are important, it can also be said that some doctrines define the
very heart of the Christian faith.
a. The Paschal Mystery is one of those doctrines, making it similar to the
doctrines of the Incarnation and the Trinity.
B. Definition
1. Christ’s work of redemption accomplished principally by his Passion, death,
Resurrection, and glorious Ascension, whereby “dying he destroyed our death, rising he
restored our life” (1067; cf. 654).
2. The paschal mystery is celebrated and made present in the liturgy of the Church, and its
saving effects are communicated through the sacraments (1076), especially the
Eucharist, which renews the paschal sacrifice of Christ as the sacrifice offered by the
Church (571, 1362–1372).
C. Paschal
1. Paschal is the English form of the Greek word , which is derived from the Hebrew
word pesach, which means “Passover.”
2. The Pesach or Passover is the Jewish Feast celebrating the Israelites’ deliverance from
slavery in Egypt (see Exodus, chapter 12), focusing on the Tenth Plague and its results.
a. In the Tenth Plague, the angel of death struck down the firstborn males of the
Egyptians (humans and animals) but “passed over” the homes of the
Israelites, sparing their firstborn.
b. This led to the Israelites’ release from their Egyptian captivity, beginning a
major new chapter in the story of salvation history.
c. The angel of death recognized the homes of the Israelites because they were
marked by the blood of a sacrificial lamb (also called the paschal lamb).
D. Passover
1. The Passover is an important foreshadowing in God’s plan of salvation.
2. There are many parallels between the Passover and Christ’s saving work.
a. In both cases the people are under foreign domination: Egyptian and Roman.
b. In both cases God raises up a savior to lead them to freedom: Moses and
Jesus Christ.
c. In both cases the people are given a new code of life: the Ten Commandments
and the Beatitudes.
d. In both cases they are saved by the shedding of innocent blood: the Paschal
Lamb’s and Christ’s.
e. In both cases the savior leads the people from one state to another: from
being slaves in Egypt to being free in the Promised Land and from being slaves
to sin to being free from sin.
E. Passover vs. Paschal Mystery
1
, PowerPoint Notes – Unit 2 Rolling the Stone Away, The Paschal Mystery
1. There is one important difference between the Passover and the Paschal Mystery: In the
Passover, salvation is incomplete and limited to the Israelites; but, in the Passion, death,
Resurrection, and Ascension of Christ, salvation is fully accomplished and universal, for
all people and all time.
2. By calling Christ’s saving work the Paschal Mystery, we are reminded that God’s plan of
salvation has long been at work, and though hidden and incomplete in the events of the
Old Testament, it has been fully revealed and accomplished through Jesus Christ.
F. Mystery
1. As a theological concept, mystery is often misunderstood. For many people the word
mystery calls to mind something that is secret, irrational, or fictional.
2. But the mysteries of faith—for example the Incarnation, the Trinity, and the Paschal
Mystery—are not secrets, irrational, or beyond explanation.
3. Definition of Mystery
a. A religious truth that one can know only by revelation and cannot fully
understand
G. Mysteries of Faith
1. Correctly understood then, the mysteries of faith share several characteristics.
a. First, they are mysterious in the sense that we cannot discover them through
human reasoning or scientific exploration.
i. But this does not mean that they cannot be known or understood—God
has revealed these truths to us, particularly through the Scriptures and
Tradition.
ii. They must be accepted in faith, and once accepted, their meaning and
purpose is understood by the believer.
b. Second, they are mysterious precisely because they are religious truths.
i. Religious or spiritual truths are not limited by or contained solely within
the physical world so they cannot be proven or disproven through
scientific experimentation.
ii. Words cannot precisely describe these truths, so we must use the
language of metaphor and symbol when talking about them.
c. Third, they are mysterious in the sense that we know them incompletely in
this life.
i. Their meaning is so rich that their full understanding is beyond the
capability of the human person.
ii. By calling Christ’s saving work the Paschal Mystery, we are reminded
that it has been revealed by God (not by human beings) and that
although we can know a great deal about it, we will not fully know
understand the Paschal Mystery in this earthly life.
H. Paschal Mystery
1. Simply stated, the Paschal Mystery is the doctrinal teaching that God saves us from the
consequences of sin—both Original Sin and our personal sins—through the saving work
of Jesus Christ.
2
A. Paschal Mystery
1. The Paschal Mystery is a core doctrine of the Church, one of the essential beliefs of all
Christians.
2. Though all doctrines are important, it can also be said that some doctrines define the
very heart of the Christian faith.
a. The Paschal Mystery is one of those doctrines, making it similar to the
doctrines of the Incarnation and the Trinity.
B. Definition
1. Christ’s work of redemption accomplished principally by his Passion, death,
Resurrection, and glorious Ascension, whereby “dying he destroyed our death, rising he
restored our life” (1067; cf. 654).
2. The paschal mystery is celebrated and made present in the liturgy of the Church, and its
saving effects are communicated through the sacraments (1076), especially the
Eucharist, which renews the paschal sacrifice of Christ as the sacrifice offered by the
Church (571, 1362–1372).
C. Paschal
1. Paschal is the English form of the Greek word , which is derived from the Hebrew
word pesach, which means “Passover.”
2. The Pesach or Passover is the Jewish Feast celebrating the Israelites’ deliverance from
slavery in Egypt (see Exodus, chapter 12), focusing on the Tenth Plague and its results.
a. In the Tenth Plague, the angel of death struck down the firstborn males of the
Egyptians (humans and animals) but “passed over” the homes of the
Israelites, sparing their firstborn.
b. This led to the Israelites’ release from their Egyptian captivity, beginning a
major new chapter in the story of salvation history.
c. The angel of death recognized the homes of the Israelites because they were
marked by the blood of a sacrificial lamb (also called the paschal lamb).
D. Passover
1. The Passover is an important foreshadowing in God’s plan of salvation.
2. There are many parallels between the Passover and Christ’s saving work.
a. In both cases the people are under foreign domination: Egyptian and Roman.
b. In both cases God raises up a savior to lead them to freedom: Moses and
Jesus Christ.
c. In both cases the people are given a new code of life: the Ten Commandments
and the Beatitudes.
d. In both cases they are saved by the shedding of innocent blood: the Paschal
Lamb’s and Christ’s.
e. In both cases the savior leads the people from one state to another: from
being slaves in Egypt to being free in the Promised Land and from being slaves
to sin to being free from sin.
E. Passover vs. Paschal Mystery
1
, PowerPoint Notes – Unit 2 Rolling the Stone Away, The Paschal Mystery
1. There is one important difference between the Passover and the Paschal Mystery: In the
Passover, salvation is incomplete and limited to the Israelites; but, in the Passion, death,
Resurrection, and Ascension of Christ, salvation is fully accomplished and universal, for
all people and all time.
2. By calling Christ’s saving work the Paschal Mystery, we are reminded that God’s plan of
salvation has long been at work, and though hidden and incomplete in the events of the
Old Testament, it has been fully revealed and accomplished through Jesus Christ.
F. Mystery
1. As a theological concept, mystery is often misunderstood. For many people the word
mystery calls to mind something that is secret, irrational, or fictional.
2. But the mysteries of faith—for example the Incarnation, the Trinity, and the Paschal
Mystery—are not secrets, irrational, or beyond explanation.
3. Definition of Mystery
a. A religious truth that one can know only by revelation and cannot fully
understand
G. Mysteries of Faith
1. Correctly understood then, the mysteries of faith share several characteristics.
a. First, they are mysterious in the sense that we cannot discover them through
human reasoning or scientific exploration.
i. But this does not mean that they cannot be known or understood—God
has revealed these truths to us, particularly through the Scriptures and
Tradition.
ii. They must be accepted in faith, and once accepted, their meaning and
purpose is understood by the believer.
b. Second, they are mysterious precisely because they are religious truths.
i. Religious or spiritual truths are not limited by or contained solely within
the physical world so they cannot be proven or disproven through
scientific experimentation.
ii. Words cannot precisely describe these truths, so we must use the
language of metaphor and symbol when talking about them.
c. Third, they are mysterious in the sense that we know them incompletely in
this life.
i. Their meaning is so rich that their full understanding is beyond the
capability of the human person.
ii. By calling Christ’s saving work the Paschal Mystery, we are reminded
that it has been revealed by God (not by human beings) and that
although we can know a great deal about it, we will not fully know
understand the Paschal Mystery in this earthly life.
H. Paschal Mystery
1. Simply stated, the Paschal Mystery is the doctrinal teaching that God saves us from the
consequences of sin—both Original Sin and our personal sins—through the saving work
of Jesus Christ.
2
